


Base Up You Blockheads

by weenies



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, baseball AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-16
Updated: 2015-05-07
Packaged: 2018-03-01 17:43:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2781911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weenies/pseuds/weenies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He’d been playing for years, and he was fucking good too.  But like most good things, Terry had to ruin it.</p><p>AKA: Mickey was great at Baseball, but had to stop playing. He has a chance to play again and meets a certain redhead who is trying out as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Face It, I'm Just An Egghead

**Author's Note:**

> I love baseball and I love Ian/Mickey so here's a baseball AU. I'll also love anyone who can guess where the title/chapter titles are coming from. (:
> 
> Oh and if there are ever any baseball references that you don't understand, let me know. I think this chapter is relatively straight forward but that's coming from someone that eats, breathes, lives baseball so I don't want to assume!

He’d been playing for years, and he was fucking good too.  But like most good things, Terry had to ruin it. Playing baseball meant staying away from home for too long during the week. Not that he wanted to be at home, but being away meant leaving Mandy behind.  Even with his scholarship for the travel ball team he played for, there was no way he could conjure up enough money to have his younger sister tag along. If there is one good thing you learned growing up in the Milkovich household, it’s that you don’t abandon family and Mickey wasn’t about to leave his younger sister home alone with their father more than was absolutely necessary.

Even if leaving his sister wasn’t an issue, quitting his baseball team was inevitable. Once Mickey was old enough, his father fully expected him to carry out his family’s legacy and that meant helping out with his father’s illegal activities.  There was no way he’d be able to keep playing baseball when he spent half his time on drug runs with his father and the other half touring the inside of Chicago’s finest Juvenile detention center. 

It was his junior year, not that he actually went to school, and he had somehow convinced Mandy to go to the park and throw the ball with him. It was nothing like being in the squat behind home plate, but it was something. They had been out there for no more than twenty minutes when from behind him, Mickey heard a loud “No fucking way!” and a clink of metal that meant someone had entered the field along the first base line.

“Mickey fucking Milkovich. It’s been years!”

Mickey turned around to see Kevin Ball, his little league coach from when he was younger walking straight toward him.

“The fuck do you want?”

“Just saying hi”

“Hi. Now fuck off.” Mickey said as he turned back around to face Mandy

“You still playing?” Kev asked once he caught up to the pair, oblivious to Mandy’s now downcast eyes.  She knew how much Mickey wished he could answer ‘yes’ to that question.

“No, stopped a couple years ago”

“Well what’ve you been up to?” Kev asked, undeterred by Mickey’s harsh one. “I mean, besides what I hear around town about the infamous Milkovich brothers”

“Nothing” Mickey responded curtly, unwilling to engage in conversation. Mandy looked on with a level of skepticism but also interest at Kev trying to make conversation.  Not many people addressed Mickey with anything but fear or reproach.

“Hmm, too bad” Kev said with a solemn expression. He seemed to perk up as if he’d just thought of the best idea. “Hey, maybe you could try out for the high school team! My neighbor, Ian—Ian Gallagher—He’s trying out next week. I could get the information fo—“

“No fucking way.”

“Well why not?” It was Mandy who asked the question and Mickey immediately shot her a glare, but she didn’t back down. “Seriously, Mick. You’re good, you could make it”

“She’s right”

“Too fucking bad. I’m not trying out” Mickey immediately went to retrieve his stuff and headed toward the gate. “You fucking coming?” He called out to Mandy.

She gave Kev an apologetic look and walked toward Mickey with her hands stuffed in her pockets.

“Hey, Mickey?” Mickey turned his head slightly as if he was trying to hear what Kev had to say but he did not stop moving. “It was good seeing you”

Mickey huffed out a laugh because no one ever enjoyed “seeing” him and if they did then maybe he needed to work harder to change that.  He kept up his brisk pace until he was out of the park and walking down the street toward home, Mandy just a few steps behind him. 

They reached the house and Mickey walked straight toward his room, fully intent on jumping into his bed, smoking some weed, and knocking the fuck out.

Mandy was on a mission of her own.

“Why won’t you try out, Mickey?”

“Don’t want to.”

“Yes, you do. You’re dying to go back onto the field. That’s why you’re always bugging me or Iggy to go out to the baseball diamonds with you.”

“Fuck you, I don’t beg”

“Seriously, this could be really great”

“There’s no way I’m going back to school. I’d still be a fucking freshman. I haven’t passed a single class”

“Well then take some night classes and actually show up for them and maybe you could graduate and—“

“Just drop it Mandy. I’m not trying out for the team. I’m not going back to school. I’m fucked for life.” Mickey said as he stepped all the way into his room. Mandy’s face softened just a bit as she was hit with the urge to simultaneously punch and hug her brother. He slammed the door in her face before she could say anything else.

*

It’d been three days and Mandy hadn’t brought up trying out for the school baseball team. He had thought he was in the clear until he walked into his room and found a manila envelope with his name written on the front propped up against his pillow.

He opened it up and found a flyer about the upcoming tryouts as well as brochures for an after school night class program that helped people stay on track to graduate.  He was going to fucking kill Mandy because at the very bottom of the stack of papers, he found an official-looking document that informed him that he was already enrolled.

“Damnit Mandy!” Mickey yelled as he came barreling into the younger girl’s room.

“Oh, you found it!” She said as if she taking the liberty of signing Mickey up for shit he didn’t want to be signed up for was no big deal. There was no fucking way he was going back to school and he’d be damned if he let her get away with this thinking she’d done good.

“How many times do you got to be told before you get it through your thick skull?”  Mickey began to pace around her room as he fought the urge to punch a hole through the wall. If she was anyone else, he swears he would have.  Mandy wasn’t buying it.

“I’m not trying out.” He finally managed, stopping briefly in-between each word to emphasize how serious he was.  Mandy just thought he sounded like a brat.

“Yes you are”

That was it. He stormed out of her room with a loud sigh before he could do anything stupid and went into his to grab a cigarette off his dresser and light it rather violently.

Mandy’s “I know you want to” drifted through the paper thin walls of the house and only managed to piss Mickey off more.

*

After he slept on it, the idea of being able to step foot on the field and saunter up to home plate was becoming more and more appealing. He did want to try out. More than anything. When he had finally calmed himself down, Mickey was actually seriously considering going out for the team. Sure, he wasn’t excited to go back to school, but if he could play ball again, maybe it’d be worth it.

He could just imagine Mandy stomping into the guidance counselor’s office and demanding that they help her, help her brother.  She hated the faculty and their condescending looks as much as he or any of their brothers do, but she’d still gone in there for him.  She may be annoying as hell, but he really loved his sister.

Mickey realized days after finding the manila envelope and deciding to go back to school that none of his gear, cleats included, fit anymore. Southside high schools could barely afford enough textbooks for half the class, there was no way in hell they’d have quality equipment for him to use.

So, he found himself walking to Kev’s house in order to do what he thought he’d never do. He was going to ask for a hand out. It’s not like he had a bunch of money laying around and being a catcher meant a lot of extra equipment, so Mickey went to his old Little League coach.

He walked up to Kev’s front door, knocked, and then heard a loud bang and commotion from inside. “Fucking Gallaghers” Kev muttered as he swung the door open. “Oh, hey Mickey” he said, looking very surprised to see the brunette standing at his doorstep.

“Everything okay in there” Mickey asked as he peered around his shoulder to catch sight of a tall, muscular redhead hovering over a toaster on the counter.

“Carl, a kid a few doors down, jammed one of his action figures in my toaster and Ian here, the baseball player I told you about, is trying to help me get it out”

“Oh” Mickey said, willing himself to stop staring at the ginger’s ass and his dick to stop reacting to it. “Look, so I decided I would come out—for the try outs that is—and I was…” Mickey trailed off, clearly struggling to get his words out.

 “Well I don’t have any equipment. Catcher’s mitt, batting gloves, helmet, none of mine fit me anymore.” Mickey swallowed and looked away. “I was wondering if you had any lying around from coaching”

Kev smiled and reached out to put a hand on Mickey’s shoulder. “I’m glad you decided to play again, man. Of course you can have some equipment. Let me go get it”

At some point during Mickey’s battle with his dick, Ian had walked over and replaced Kev at the door.

“So you’re trying out?” Ian asked with a small friendly smile on his face.

“Yeah”

“Cool, me too.”

“hm”

“I have some old cleats you can have. They’re a little too small on me but they should be able to fit you”

“I don’t need any cleats” Mickey lied. He thought he could figure out a way to get, or rather steal, some cleats if his other bases (no pun intended) were covered.

“Are you sure, I don’t mind. You can—“

“I said I don’t fucking need them” Fuck if he was going to take handouts from the hot lanky redhead. He realized how ridicules that sounded considering he was already at Kev’s house asking for handouts, but he quickly dismissed that thought from his head.

“Alright man, whatever.”

“Hey Kev, I’m heading out! Plan on buying a new toaster, by the way”

A couple of expletives could be heard from upstairs but Mickey’s focus was on the retreating redhead.

“See you at tryouts” Ian said over his shoulder as he pushed his way through the gate at the edge of the lawn.

 Mickey stepped inside and closed the door once the redhead was gone, feeling a little awkward standing outside an empty doorway.

Kev returned after a couple of minutes with a box and handed it to Mickey.  He said his thanks and walked back out the front door. When he got to the edge of the porch he saw a pair of cleats sitting on the edge of the steps along with a note that read ‘ _Just in case’_ in small barely legible handwriting. Fucking Gallaghers.

*

Mandy walked with Mickey over to the high school’s baseball field and although he would never admit it, he was grateful.  He was pretty nervous about stepping into his—well Gallagher’s—cleats for the first time in years.

Growing up gay in a household run by Terry Milkovich was hell. Baseball became his escape when his mother had signed him up for little league at the age of seven.  Despite having a mouth on him, coaches for more competitive teams took notice of his skill and invited him to play with them.  He’d always thought he’d never be good at anything but he was fucking great at baseball. He thought Terry had ruined that for him but now he might have a chance to play again.

They made it to the school and Mickey immediately spotted Ian talking animatedly with presumably another boy trying out for the team.  The redhead looked up and made eye contact with mickey before looking down to Mickey’s feet and smiling at the familiar cleats he was wearing.

“Nice cleats” He smirked as he made his way over to the two Milkovich siblings.

“Fuck off” Mickey scoffed

Ian turned his attention to Mandy and smiled. “I’m Ian.”

Mandy’s eyes practically turned into two bulging hearts as she gazed up at Ian. “We’re in English together” she practically purred with a small smile on her face.

Ian just smiled at her, clearly uncomfortable, as she reached out to run her hand up his arm.

Mickey was kind of annoyed at Mandy for flirting with one of his potential teammates, especially one he found particularly attractive, but was also amused at the kid’s discomfort.  He knew Mandy could be extremely forward and after the stunt Ian pulled with the cleats the other day, Mickey thought he deserved it.

Mickey left the two in order to set his bag down in the dugout but came back just in time to catch the tail end of their conversation.

“You want to hang out on Saturday” 

Ian looked over to Mickey who has just joined them and replied with a slight smile “Yeah, sure”

“Great see you then” Mandy drawled as she gave a small wave and turned to leave.

“See you later, douchebag” Mickey called out to her

“Whatever, assface. Don’t suck.”

“She’s—” Ian started as soon as Mandy was out of earshot. He ran his hand up his forearm as he continued to fumble with his words. “She’s intense”

Mickey huffed out a laugh, “That’s one way to put it”

“Yeah, so coach wanted us to pair off and get warmed up. What do you say?”

“Whatever man.” Mickey said, not making eye contact with a now jubilant Ian. Mickey couldn’t help but bask in the way the redhead’s face lit up when he smiled. Mickey couldn’t help but think he was fucked.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/anxiouslysarah)! I always appreciate feedback.


	2. What'd you say, crap face?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A 5-4-3 double play is when the third baseman throws the ball to the second baseman who steps on the bag and throws it to the first baseman so they can get the second out.

 

Tryouts had gone alright. Ian was apparently some big hot shot around school, well known for his prowess on the field. The kid could turn a 5-4-3 double play faster than it took a crowd to erupt in anger after a botched call. In short, Ian Gallagher was fucking good. Mickey wondered how Ian managed to escape his radar. Sure, he knew about the Gallagher clan but he never knew one of the boys played baseball. And since Mickey grew up for the most part in a catchers squat behind home plate, he would have expected their paths to cross at some point.

It was struggle, but Mickey made an effort the next few days to put Ian as far away from his mind as possible. The urge to jerk off to the image of Ian in his form-fitting baseball tights was all too appealing and Mickey already found himself caught up in the way Gallagher’s eyes widened momentarily before breaking out into the most angelic yet mischievous smile he’d ever seen or how his incredibly immature sense of humor managed to be extremely charming at the same time.  He couldn’t afford to get caught up in his infectious laughter or the way one look in Mickey’s direction makes him want to drop his pants and willingly present himself to the younger boy.  Still, he hadn’t been very successful at ridding his mind from these thoughts.

Saturday rolled around and Mandy had been practically beaming all day. Ian was supposed to come over at seven and they were going to go to a movie after dinner. Mickey knew this because Mandy wouldn’t fucking shut up about it. She’d been on her phone all day calling her friends and Mickey was fairly sure she’d completely emptied the contents of her closet onto her bed while trying to find an outfit to wear.

It was just after seven when a knock at the door got the Milkovich brother’s, who were all sitting in the living room, attention.

Iggy answered the door and let Gallagher inside.  The kid looked incredibly hot outside of his workout clothes and baseball gear and Mickey definitely appreciated how his tight jeans firmly hugged the curve of his ass cheeks.

Iggy folded has arms across his chest and glared down the redhead who was still awkwardly standing in the doorway holding his jacket in his hand.  “So what are your intentions with Mandy” Iggy asked eliciting a chorus of snickers and snorts from the four other Milkovich boys in the room. 

Iggy thoroughly enjoyed yanking all of Mandy’s fuckbuddies’ chains and Mickey thought watching Ian squirm was fucking hilarious. He knew Iggy meant no harm and if he stepped too far, the other Milkovich boys had no reservations about keeping him in check.  Mandy would kill all of them if anything happened to someone she liked. 

“I, uh, my intentions?” Ian asked incredulously

“Yeah, like your plans, dickbrain” Iggy responded, adding “Your intentions.” for emphasis.

“I intend to watch a movie”

“That all?”

Ian hummed in assurance with a slight nod to his head, swallowing a little too hard to go unnoticed when Iggy took a step toward him.

“Man, I’m just messing with you” Iggy cracked a smile and backhanded Ian’s chest lightly as Ian continued to stair wide-eyed at the blonde young adult, clearly unamused.

“Hey Mandy, Gallagher’s here!” Mickey called out, trying to put the kid out of his misery and out of his house so that his mind could stop trying to picture the redhead naked.

Ian turned to look at Mickey but the brunette was pointedly avoiding making eye contact.  Just as Ian was about to open his mouth Mandy came out of her room and met Ian at the door.

“Hey Mandy, I think you forgot to put on some clothes” Mickey remarked at the barely-there skirt Mandy was sporting.

Mickey had a smug smile on his face when she turned to glare at him. Iggy was cracking up next to Colin, Tony, and Jamie who were all laughing rather loudly despite looking like they were trying to keep it in.  Her only response was to flip them off and grab Ian by the arm and pull him toward the door.

“See ya on Tuesday, Mick” Ian said softly as he was dragged out the door.

“What’s on Tuesday?” Colin asked, confused.

“None of your fucking business”

“Well, Gallagher will see ya then Mick” Iggy said in a high pitched sing-song voice as he batted his eyes at an unimpressed looking Mickey.

“Oh, fuck off”

They turned on their stolen Xbox and played pirated video games for the next hour and a half before Mandy came bursting through the front door jacket half on and tears flowing steadily out of her heavily made-up eyes.

“What the fuck?”

“Just watching a movie, my ass” Iggy said as he stood up and turned toward where they kept the weapons

“Hold on a minute” Mickey barked out before Iggy reached the gun cabinet.

“What’d you mean hold on, the fuckhead messed with Mandy”

Mickey ignored his brother and walked to the back of the house to where Mandy had stormed off to. “What the hell happened?” He said as he put his hand out to stop Mandy’s bedroom door from closing.

He wouldn’t have believed Gallagher, who sat with his tail between his legs in the Milkovich doorway just hours ago could be capable of much but seeing his sister crying like she was had him seeing blood.  Still, he was going to see what Mandy had to say about it before he went to kill the kid.

“Nothing, leave me alone”

“Mandy, did he—“ He said, not quite able to finish the sentence.

Mandy huffed out a laugh before shaking her head. “Just leave it, Mick.”

“No fucking way I’m leaving it. What the fuck did he do?”

“Just fuck off”

“Mandy” Mickey said indignantly as he tried to push his way into the room

“I said fuck off!” Mandy yelled before slamming her door in her brother’s face.

Mickey stood there for a moment longer trying to reign in his anger before he stalked back into the living room. Ian had seemed like a completely harmless kid, sweet even, and the thought of him going anywhere close enough to hurt his sister had him sick to his stomach.

“What the fuck happened?” Colin asked.

“I’ll deal with it”

“Nah, man. C’mon we’re not letting you do this by yourself”

“Fine. Jamie, Tony, let’s go.” Mickey wanted to have size on his side and the two eldest Milkovich brothers definitely had a lot to offer in that respect. Despite being fiercely loyal, his two other brothers weren’t ideal wingmen.

 Iggy was too impulsive and Colin could barely wipe his own ass, making him too much of a liability if shit hit the fan. He wasn’t expecting anything to go terribly wrong, but he wasn’t about to take unnecessary risks. The two blonde brothers were convenient if he needed backup and they were the only two around, but he much preferred the right mixture of bulk and compliance his other brothers possessed. 

“What the fuck, we’re going with you.”

“No you’re not, we’ll deal with it” He said has he gestured for Tony and Jamie to get the fuck going.  “We’ll call you if we need you guys. And I’d stay away from Mandy if I were you.”

*

They reached Gallagher’s street in record time, adrenaline and anger causing an increase in pace. They stopped briefly to come up with some sort of plan. It wasn’t exactly necessary since their only goal was to scare and maybe beat the shit out of Ian, but Mickey didn’t want to just walk up to the house without being on the same page as his brothers.

Mickey was going to go up to the door while his brothers hung back at the gate. He’d ask to speak to the redhead and once he managed to coerce Ian away from the front porch, the two bigger men would jump in and well jump Ian.

Once the plan was decided on, they made their way to the Gallagher house.  All the lights were on and loud chattering could be heard from the sidewalk.  Mickey unhitched the gate lock and nodded at his brothers as he walked up to the door to make sure they remembered to stick to the plan.

_Knock, Knock_

From behind the door, Mickey could hear a woman’s voice shout “Ian, can you get the door?” _Perfect_ , he thought.

The door opened and the redhead finally came into view. His face immediately dropped when his eyes landed on Mickey and shifted to the two men lingering behind him.

“What’d you do to Mandy?” Mickey asked, voice completely devoid of emotion. It must have freaked Ian out because he started to sway backward as if he was fighting the urge to slam the door and bolt.

The brunette, unwilling to even entertain the idea of escape, took a slight step forward so that his foot would block any attempt at closing the door.

“I swear Mickey, I didn’t do anything” Ian said as his eyes frantically darted around as if willing the older boy to understand.

It didn’t work though, because Mickey responded with a blunt and unapologetic “I don’t believe you”.

“Please, Mickey. You have to believe me”

“See, I don’t have to believe anything. Not when my sister is hurting. Now, why don’t you take a walk with me and we can sort things out”

Ian’s eyes dropped at the mention of Mandy.  He looked sincerely upset.  The inkling of doubt at the redhead’s ability to intentionally cause harm to another person flared up at the sight. He wanted so badly to make things right for Mandy, but if Gallagher wasn’t guilty then there would be nothing Mickey could do and it pissed him off.

Ian looked past Mickey at Jamie and Tony who have now taken to rattling the gate with their hands.  “What about try-outs?” Ian blurted out suddenly. He looked a little triumphant at the thought that popped into his head.

“What about them?” Mickey spit out, annoyed at the shift in conversation. He was already distracted by the thoughts of Ian’s innocence and now the kid was changing the conversation on him.

“If you beat the shit out of me, you won’t make the team.  They can’t afford not to have me playing second base”

“They won’t know it was me”

“You really want to take the chance?  I come home from a date with your sister that ends badly, which again was a total misunderstanding, and suddenly I have a black eye? Not to mention, my entire block saw you walk over here. It seems a bit suspicious”

“Trust me you’d be getting more than just a black eye” Mickey bit out as he looked around to see that more than a couple of Ian’s neighbors had poked their heads outside of their doors to see what the Milkovich brothers were doing at the Gallagher house.

“But I have a point. You fuck up my face, you fuck up your chances at playing catcher for the team”

Mickey looked away and brought his lip up to rest between his teeth.  He definitely didn’t want to screw up his chances at playing baseball again and he still couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe Ian wasn’t as guilty as he and his brothers initially thought.  Mickey knew Ian was right and judging by the look of relief on the younger boy’s face, Ian knew that he had gotten through to Mickey.  Ian was safe. At least from the beating.

*

“Man I can’t believe you let firecrotch off the hook” Iggy said with disgust, the Monday after Mickey and his two oldest brothers returned home with surprisingly unbloodied knuckles.

“I didn’t let him off the hook. I was protecting our asses. There were a shit ton of people watching us.” Mickey turned to Jamie and Tony then. “Maybe if you shitheads hadn’t been making so much noise with that fence, we wouldn’t have had a problem.”

 “Who the fuck would bat an eye at clanking metal?” Jamie asked. “It ain’t our fault they were watching”

“And since when do we give a shit if anyone sees of giving a beat down?” Colin asked.

They had a point.

Mickey sighed loudly not wanting to explain to his brothers how he stood to benefit from not harming the Gallagher kid.  He wanted to keep his baseball tryouts between him and Mandy for a little while longer. He didn’t know how they would react to him having goals for his future. They definitely wouldn’t react like his father would, but he didn’t want to deal with the ridicule and teasing he thought they were likely to direct at him.

He looked over to glare at his brothers making it clear that he was done with the conversation. He had his second day of try outs to prepare for and he was already running a little late.

Once his cleats and gear were all packed in a duffle bag he left his house, ignoring the questioning looks he received on the way out, and made his way to the baseball diamonds.

He noticed Ian was already there but to his surprise Mandy was as well. She was hanging onto his every word, laughing and smiling like Mickey hadn’t seen her do in years. To say Mickey was a confused would be a huge understatement.

He walked over to see what was going on and was able to catch the tail end of their conversation.

“Yeah, he’s a total perv” Ian said as Mandy laughed in agreement.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Mickey asked Mandy, snapping both her and Ian’s attention toward him.

“None of your fucking business”

“You are my fucking business. Just earlier this week this asshole had you in tears”

“It was a misunderstanding”

“Yeah that’s what everyone keeps fucking saying”

“Jesus Mick, just drop it” Mandy said as she rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Ian.

Ian looked up briefly before Mandy grabbed Ian’s arm and quietly led him away from her brother, leaving Mickey wondering what the hell just happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry these chapters are a little on the short side, they should be getting longer soon. 
> 
> As always, feedback is very much welcome! My [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/anxiouslysarah)


	3. less than a god but more than a man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian ended up at the Milkovich house multiple times in the days after Mandy came home crying. None of the other brothers knew what to make of it, but Mandy assured them everything was fine. They were still not sure if not kicking his ass was a good idea but they tentatively backed off and stopped hovering in the kitchen while Mandy and Ian hung out in the front room. Everyone except Mickey, that is.

Ian ended up at the Milkovich house multiple times in the days after Mandy came home crying. None of the other brothers knew what to make of it, but Mandy assured them everything was fine. They were still not sure if not kicking his ass was a good idea but they tentatively backed off and stopped hovering in the kitchen while Mandy and Ian hung out in the front room. Everyone except Mickey, that is.

He parked himself next to the two of them on the couch and read the newspaper while they played with their stolen xbox console.

“Since when do you read, asshat?”

Mickey looked up to meet his sister’s glare briefly but flicked his eyes back down to the words in front of him.

Mandy audibly sighed and mumbled under her breath about Mickey’s room being a perfectly good place to read the paper. Mickey wasn’t having it though. He wasn’t quite ready to forgive and forget until he got a better feel for Ian. And he wasn’t exactly painful to look at so it wasn’t a huge inconvenience.

Mandy huffed some more and got up from the couch mumbling about using the bathroom and how Mickey “better be fucking gone by the time she gets back”.

The two boys sat in uncomfortable silence for some time before Ian built up the nerve to speak to Mickey. “So—“

“Don’t fucking talk to me”

“Look, I know you think I—“

Mickey let out an exasperated sigh, remind Ian eerily of Mandy. “Gallagher”

“I’m just saying that I’m not the guy you think I am” Ian let out without taking a breath, not wanting to risk Mickey interrupting him again.

Mickey chanced a look at Ian and caught the sincere look in his eyes before he looked down to where his hands clasped nervously in his lap. He was struck by the sudden desire to believe the confession. He wanted to believe Ian was a good guy but you don’t grow up in the Milkovich household and learn how to let your guard down easily. You don’t believe people can be trusted simply because they say they can be. You judge by instinct and by what you observe. The problem was that everything Mickey’s instinct told him and what he observed didn’t exactly match up. One day Ian is leaving cleats for him when he didn’t have any and the next he has Mandy in tears. Now he’s back in her good graces telling him it was all a misunderstanding.

“Hey Ian! Wanna watch a movie in my room?” Mandy yelled from the back of the house. Ian glanced up at Mickey and nodded slightly when he realized he wasn’t going to get a response from him.

“Yeah, sure.” He called back as he got up off the couch and left Mickey sitting in the living room with the xbox home screen illuminating the scowl on his face.

*

Mickey spent the next day at the baseball diamonds. He couldn’t do much since he was alone but he was able to work with the bat behind home plate, making sure the mechanics of his swing were what they needed to be. He’d been at it for just over an hour when he heard the gate behind him open up with a clank. He turned around to see Kev walking over with a smile on his face and his hands up and to the side in an exaggerated display of surprise.

He clapped Mickey on the back before he stood off to the side with his hands on his hips. “What’s up man”

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I was walking by and saw you working on your swing”

“That doesn’t explain why the fuck you came over”

Mickey raised his eyebrows when Kev hesitated to answer right away. Eventually he sighed and dropped his hands from his hips. “Just thought I’d see where your head is. About try outs.

“What about them?”

“You’re really good Mickey. Always have been. I’m really glad you chose to try out”

Mickey dropped his gaze, not really knowing how to respond to the praise. He’d never been good at that. Accepting compliments was entirely new territory for him. Hell, getting compliments was new territory for him. The only one who ever offered them anymore was Mandy and she usually ended it by calling him “dickface” just to be sure he didn’t think she was getting sappy on him.

Kev’s open honesty though, the sincerity in his voice, was more than Mickey was equipped to handle. He’d probably never be able to handle it. He thought about telling Kev to fuck off, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“Yeah, it’s been a while though. Don’t know how great I’m gonna be come next Tuesday” His honestly surprised the both of them but Mickey was finding it was easy to talk to Kev.

“Well, let me help you out. I’ll pitch so you can practice hitting”

Mickey hesitated, but only briefly, before agreeing.

Kev shook off his surprise and walked out to the mound with the bucket filled with baseballs that was kept in the dugout as Mickey set up in the batters box. He gripped the first ball, middle and index finger along the red seams, wound up and sent the ball flying about ten feet over the home plate toward the backstop.

“Man, you fucking suck” Mickey said as he laughed to himself, the horrendous throw quickly knocking the tension from his shoulders. 

“Hey, it’s been a while for me too”

Mickey shook his head as he brought the bat up behind his ear and leaned forward ever so slightly forward. Kev threw the next pitch and watched as it made contact with the dirt about a foot in front of home plate.

Mickey straightened out of his hitting stance and gave Kev an incredulous look.

“One more?” Kev asked sheepishly.

“Yeah, ok”

Kev eventually managed to throw the ball over home plate and Mickey immediately sent it soaring into left field. They continued for a couple more hours until Kev announced that he had to get home to V. She’d be wondering where he had been. As Mickey walked home, he thought about how he’d actually enjoyed himself. He’d felt at ease for the first time in a really long time. He’d felt accepted, worthy even. He didn’t feel like the trash most people thought he was.

*

Mickey spent the next couple of days trying his hardest to avoid his house at all costs. His dad had been in a mood lately. He’d taken to letting his anger out on Mickey when Mickey was still a kid. Something about being the youngest son really pissed Terry off.  It wasn’t like Terry ever needed a reason to be pissed off. He just was and Mickey was always his first target.

His mother used to try and make up for it by sneaking into his room some nights just to tell him how much she loved him. His dad never caught on and after his mom died, Mickey did his best to push it from his mind. It hurt less that way.

He spent most of his time while trying to avoid his dad at the baseball diamonds. Sometimes he’d practice his swing but other times he’d just get high in the dugouts and sneak back inside once his dad had passed out.

Colin had texted him that they had gone on a run with their dad for a couple days so Mickey found himself heading home a little bit earlier than usual. He wasn’t even surprised when he walked through the door and found Ian sitting on the couch.

“Hey” Ian shifted uncomfortably in his seat before he brought his eyes up to meet Mickey’s. “Mandy’s friend called. She’s in her room getting dressed for some party”

As if on cue, Mandy came out of her room sporting a dress and high heels. “Ian’s gonna stay here until I get back. Don’t be an asshole”

She was gone before he could even respond. He turned away from Ian and walked toward the fridge to grab a beer.

“My mom’s back” Ian said out of nowhere. “That’s why I’m here. Don’t want to deal with her shit.”

If there was one thing Mickey understood completely, it was shitty parents. He hesitated as he reached into the fridge. He shook his head and pulled out two beers and turned to face Ian on the couch.

“You want one?”

“Yeah, sure”

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes. It wasn’t exactly awkward, but both boys were on edge, neither knowing what to say to the other. 

Finally Ian broke the silence and blurted out, “I remember you”

“What?”

“From Little League. You were mad that we got you out so you pissed on first base”

Mickey had remembered there being a redhead on the other team but he didn’t know it was Ian.  That wasn’t what caught his attention at what Ian just said though. “Like hell I was out. I was clearly fucking safe”

“Alright, Mick” Ian said laughing. The use of the nickname wasn’t lost on Mickey and it took everything in him to not tell Ian to use his fucking name or don’t say anything at all. He didn’t want Ian to think he was a pushover or what the fuck ever but he figured he’d let him get away with it this time. It was far more important that he give Ian the refresher he desperately needed on what actually happened that game.

_He was the catcher for the Chicago White Sox U10 boys team and stood at 4 feet 8 inches of pure spitfire.  Every pitch that he caught and ever bat that he swung was accompanied with his obscene smack talk and smart ass retorts._

_It was the middle of July of one of the hottest summer’s any of the eight year olds could remember.  For weeks they would speak of the game so intense that should they had been out there a mere thirty minutes longer, they all would have surely died._

_All of Mickey’s teammates in the dugout were at the edge of the fence, ready rush onto the field at a moment’s notice should the game end in a walk off. It was the bottom of the ninth, 1 out, with runners on second and third.  The score was 2-3, bases loaded and the Sox were losing.  Aware of his teammates’ speed and base running abilities, Mickey knew that a base hit would send both home and win the game._

_The young Milkovich sauntered up to the plate, taking his time as he glared at each and every one of the eight opposing players in front of him, paying extra attention to the pimply boy on the mound.  His eye caught the sight of a redheaded boy playing second.  The boy smirked at Mickey and the brunette brought his bat down to the plate in front of him at smacked the bat onto the rubber with as much force as he could muster._

_After glaring at freckles for some time longer, Mickey planted his feet inside the batter’s box and held the bat up behind his head.  He waited somewhat impatiently as the pitcher wound up his arm, and geared up to throw his first pitch of Mickey’s at bat._

_The pitcher stepped forward, but released the ball too early, causing the catcher to jump up from the squat in order to prevent the ball from going to the back stop._

_Hell if this joker was going pitch like that, there was no way in hell Mickey was going to swing.  There was also no way he was going to pass on laughing obnoxiously loud at the horrendous pitch._

_“What the fuck was that?” Mickey called out when he was able to regain some control of his laughter. “Trying to improve your ‘run’s pitched in’ average?” If Pimply-face wanted to walk a run in, Mickey wasn’t going to complain but he definitely was going to give him hell for it._

_“Are you ready to go or not” The ump asked, reminding Mickey that he was in fact still in the batter’s box._

_Mickey turned his attention back at the pitcher and was prepared to swing in case he got his pitch. The ball came in just a bit high and over the plate. He swung and sent the ball barreling straight between the second and first baseman in what was sure to be a base hit.  He took off toward first base when he realized that the first baseman had managed to dive and block the ball from squirting into the outfield.  Covering for his teammate, pimply face ran over toward first base and caught the underhand throw just moments after Mickey’s foot touched down on the white rubber._

_“OUT” the ump called momentarily silencing everyone on Mickey’s team that had begun to cheer at Mickey being totally fucking safe._

_They weren’t silence for long though because the entire team as well as the parent’s rooting for them erupted into angry yelling._

_“You’re killing me blue!”_

_“What the fuck kind of shit call was that?”_

_“He was safe!”_

_“Get off your knees ump, you’re blowing this game!”_

_Mickey, much to everyone’s surprise didn’t mutter a word but simply stood at first base with his back to the parents that sat in the bleachers along the first base line.  From where they were standing, they could see a stream of yellowish liquid flowing down and in front of Mickey.  The angry yelling soon turned into boisterous laughter as the smart ass Milkovich kid pissed all over first base._

_Mickey looked up to see the redheaded kid staring at him with the biggest grin and brightest look of admiration he had ever seen directed at him.  He smirked as he zipped up his pants before being hauled off the field by a firm grip to his upper arm._

_The next batter to hit struck out and they ended up losing the game, but Mickey could hardly care._

_He may not have made into onto the score sheet, but he’d have been damned if no one remembered that Mickey Milkovich played in that game._

The two of them sat laughing as Mickey finished reminiscing about his Little League years.

“I was something else back then, huh?”

“Back then?” Ian responded “Nah, the reputation of the infamous Mickey Milkovich continues on even today”

“Fuck off”

“I’m serious, Mick.” Ian smiled as he looked into Mickey’s eyes “You’re something else”

“Yeah, fuck off” Mickey’s heart beat picked up and the intensity of Ian’s stare was doing nothing to help him calm down.

“I’m serious” Ian said as he leaned forward toward Mickey. “I mean you were going to beat the shit out of me when you thought I hurt your sister”

“I’m still not all that convinced about your innocence.”

“You just spent the last half an hour talking with me about your childhood. I’d even take a chance and say we’re approaching friendship territory.”

He had a point. Mickey couldn’t deny that he’d let his guard down slightly when he was around him. He wasn’t pouring his heart out but he was amicable with him and that wasn’t something most people who interacted with Mickey could say. Mickey wasn’t sure what to make out of that, but he wasn’t going to let Ian get it in his head that he was right.

“We’re not friends.” Mickey quickly responded before he got too caught up thinking about why he was even talking to Ian. His self-preservation skills needed some work if he thought he could strike up a friendship with one of the Milkovich brothers. “And besides, it’s not really the same as whipping your dick out in the middle of the baseball game is it?”

“No, I guess not.” Ian laughed before getting serious again, “But both are pretty admirable in my opinion”

“You’re fucking weird, man. No one thinks this highly of someone trying to beat the shit out of them”

“I would have done the same thing for my sisters. So no harm, no foul”

They turned on the xbox and played until Mandy came home sometime later. Mickey retreated to his room to leave the two of them to do whatever it is they do. Mickey wasn’t really interested in seeing his sister make googly eyes with Ian.

*

The next day of tryouts was the next morning. After discovering that Mickey hadn’t been a total dick to Ian, Mandy had suggested they all walk over together. Ian just had to go pick up his gear before they could walk over to the field. Which is why Mickey found himself standing out on the porch he had threatened Ian from just days earlier.

Ian didn’t take long but was followed out by a blonde woman he’d never seen before.

“Ian, baby, wait. I’ll come watch you, I just need to get dressed”

“Don’t bother” He called out before turning to Mickey and Mandy, “come on, we’re going to be late”

They weren’t going to be late, but they both understood that Ian wanted to get away from his house as soon as possible.

It was Mandy that spoke up first, “That your mom?”

“Yeah” Ian responded but didn’t elaborate. They continued the rest of the way to the baseball field in silence. Ian was visibly agitated but was also had a gleam in his eye that made it clear he was hurting.

Mickey wasn’t sure why he cared but he didn’t like seeing him upset. He pushed Ian’s shoulder after the coach announced that they were going to need to pair up for their first drill. “I’ll do you a favor and let you be my partner. It’ll make you look good to be paired up with the best out here”

Ian’s eyes widened before he broke out into a huge grin. “If anything it’s me that’s going to be making you look good”

They got into position, Ian still not able keep his smile off his face. Mickey couldn’t help feeling proud that he was the one who put it there.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it is! I'm so so so sorry about the white. Life has been...chaotic. I was able to write this week though so I was able to get this finished. :)
> 
> Let me know what you think and come say hi on [Tumblr](anxiouslysarah.tumblr.com)!


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